The Dash
Without a doubt the most provocative question ever asked is, “What is life?” The “how” to deal with it has been discussed and cussed from time immemorial.
Even Hugh Hefner has an opinion. “The challenge of life is to live it to the hilt.” Whatever that means.
I like what James Baldwin has to say, “The challenge of life is to be present in everything we do. From getting up in the morning to going to bed at night.”
Jesus even spoke about life. “I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” Obviously He was talking about more than our sum total of breathes and heart beats.
Some theorists describe life as Birth, Living and Death. No meaning, no purpose. The Bible sometimes falls into that “slough of despond.” Methuselah is said to have lived 969 years. That’s all he is noted for.
The Book of Numbers reiterates a similar mundane record. So and so begets so and so.
Does the name Linda Ellis sound familiar? Her poem, THE DASH, is enjoyed by millions. It is responsible for changed attitudes, a shifting of directions and motivations.
The dash refers to the line between the dates of a person’s birth and death. It usually appears on obituaries and on tombstones. As one writer puts it, “the poem will get you thinking differently about life and what’s truly important.”
Three verses of the poem are:
For it matters not how much you own,
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard
Are there things you’ll like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
Moses began his life’s work at the age of 80. I personally know several men and women in their 90’s who are continually enriching our world with their thoughts and actions.
I owe a big “thanks” to Dave Bradshawe, Anglican churchman and Cruise Director for the following story. It is about a woman named Rose whose “dash” was amazing.
“The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, ‘Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven yours old. Can I give you a hug?’
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, ‘Of course you may!’ and she gave me a giant squeeze.
‘Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?’ I asked. She jokingly replied, ‘I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel.’
‘No seriously,’ I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
‘I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!’ she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.
I was always mesmerized listening to this ‘time machine’ as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends where she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said ‘I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.’ As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:
‘We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity to change.
Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do.’
She concluded her speech by courageously singing ‘The Rose.’ She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year’s end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.”
Amen. Selah. So be it.
WORDS TO THINK ABOUT
G. W. Abersold Ph.D.